A Music-related blog containing information and commentary of my favorite music, as well as some choice downloads of quality, hard-to-find music (unofficial releases, ROIO's, concert bootlegs, etc.) available on the web.

After hosting a series of what became annual Musical-Variety Christmas Shows (with guest stars, music, comedy, sketches, videos, etc.) that ran from 2006 to 2011, Aimee Mann took a few years off from the holiday affairs, but then in 2014 came back with Ted Leo, her recent partner in the musical collaboration The Both, to host another round of the popular Christmas Shows, which was dubbed, naturally, 'The Return of the Aimee Mann Christmas Show'. In this recent incarnation of the show (which always have some kind of theme), Aimee and Ted play Rock n' Roll detectives, that is, they are musician crime solvers, they travel around the world, rockin' and rollin' and solvin' murders, but for this show, Aimee doesn't want to have to solve any murders, just have a fun, festive holiday show. But, of course, then they hear that the Backstage Santa has just been murdered. Aimee just wants to carry on with the show, but Ted thinks they need to solve the murder, setting the stage for some onstage mayhem. The songs, of course, are the main thing, though, and they play numerous Holiday standards, as well as a few of their own catalog songs, and are joined by guests Jonathan Coulton, Susanna Hoffs, and Bill Janovitz (Buffalo Tom), for a few songs each. And if you are not interested in the in-between song banter and antics, these are tracked separately so can be edited out, if desired (Some of those antics lose a lot without the visuals as we don't know what is happening onstage causing the audience laughter, etc.). But, overall, an entertaining show. This is from the Boston performance of the show. Also, Aimee and Ted have continued on in 2015 with a new version of the Christmas Show, which has just wrapped up its series of performances (unfortunately, I have not yet found any recorded versions of the 2015 show, which is said to have featured Liz Phair as a guest artist). Enjoy, and Happy Holidays to all.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

The Smithereens2007-03-16 and 2007-12-21World Cafe Live (2 radio shows)Philadelphia, PAFM Broadcast (webcast) Recordings (WXPN-NPR), very good quality
mp3 @320 kbps

Here's more from The Smithereens, from several years later (2007), two separate shows done at World Cafe in Philadelphia for WXPN and NPR radio, one in Spring (March 16), featuring songs from their Beatles cover album, Meet the Smithereens, and one in December (12-21), featuring songs from their Christmas album, Christmas with the Smithereens, as well as some older favorites at each show. I also threw in a couple bonus tracks from another 2007 show I had (07-22, Camden, NJ) to round out the show (and ends with the Who's 'Behind Blue Eyes', which foreshadows what their next cover project would be, The Smithereens Play Tommy, in 2009. Some great stuff here, and even some holiday songs for the Christmas season.

Keeping with the theme of great underappreciated power pop bands, we move from the UK back to the US, and to New Jersey, for The Smithereens. The Smithereens first started around 1980, with Pat DiNizio (lead vocals, guitar, & primary songwriter), Jim Babjak (guitar, vocals), Mike Mesaro (bass, vocals), and Dennis Diken (drums), as a local band, releasing a couple of independent EPs through the mid-80's, but then burst on the national scene in 1986 with their first full-length LP, Especially For You, featuring the powerful singles 'Blood and Roses' and 'Behind the Wall of Sleep'. They followed this powerhouse debut with a couple more great albums, Green Thoughts (1988) and 11 (1989). Over the next several years the band was up and down, experimenting with some different styles and approaches, and then doing a series of theme cover albums (Meet The Smithereens-2007, B-Sides the Beatles-2008, The Smithereens Play Tommy-2009, and Christmas with The Smithereens-2007), but they have always been entertaining and a great band to see live. Their most recent studio album was 2011 (2011), and they continue to tour and perform regularly, and are certainly worth checking out if you get the chance.
This compilation comes from 3 separate Westwood One radio shows over the years 1989-1994. The first show (1989) has the best sound (PFM from radio discs) so the entire show from here is included. The second show, only the songs that were unique (not repeated) from the earlier show were included. The final show (1994) I only have in mp3 format, and is from a broadcast recording rather than Pre-FM, but still has good sound, and includes songs from their most recent album at that time, A Date with the Smithereens. All together, this compilation makes a really good full CD-length show covering a range of great material.

Tracklist:
01. Drown In My Own Tears
02. Green Thoughts
03. Groovy Tuesday
04. Something New
05. Cigarette
06. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
07. Only A Memory
08. Blood and Roses
09. House We Used To Live In
10. Room With A View
11. Marie Elena
12. Cut Flowers
13. Blue Period
14. William Wilson
15. A Girl Like You
16. Blues Before And After
17. War For My Mind
18. Everything I Have is Blue
19. Miles From Nowhere

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This site respects and supports artists and artist rights. Please support the artists by purchasing their officially released music through normal channels. The music files, information, and downloads linked here represent unreleased recordings that are not available through any official channels. This music is meant to supplement (and not replace) the currently available official releases for fans that want to explore deeper into an artists repertoire than is possible through official releases only (through demos, outtakes, alternate versions, and concert recordings). The music linked here is presented for sampling and evaluation purposes. By all means, if you enjoy the music from any artists represented here, please buy their official releases. All music files linked here are freely available elsewhere on the internet and no music files are stored at this site. I hope you find new music to enjoy here.

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